Composite powdered metal bearing



Oct. 16, 1951' J HALLEQ 2,571,868

COMPOSITE POWDEREQ METAL BEARING Filed March 20, 1950 I 2" SHEETS--SHEET1 Gitornegs Oct. 16, 1951 J HALLER 2,571,868

COMPOSITE POWDERED METAL BEARING Filed March 20, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 23nventor er BB EMMYWM Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEl This invention relates to bearings and, in par- "ticular, to powderedmetal bearings.

One object of this invention is to provide a composite powdered metaloil well bearing which will possess the combined advantages of apowdered iron sleeve bearing with a bronze sleeve bearing preferably ofpowdered bronze, wherein the powdered iron sleeve has an oil well in theinterior thereof and the bronze sleeve bearing has oil holes leadingthrough its wall to the inner surface of the powdered iron bearing so asto receive and transmit oil therefrom. 'j Another object is to provide acomposite powdered metal oil well bearing which will possess theinexpensive construction and material of powdered ironfor the majorportion of the bearing and the superior load-carrying qualities of abronze bearing produced by a thin bronze sleeve, either solid bronze orpowdered bronze, se-

cured in the powdered iron sleeve.

Another object is to provide a composite powldered metal oil wellbearing of the foregoing character-and a process of making such abearing, wherein the oil holes in the powdered bronze inner-.sleeve'orbearing sleeve are disposed in directions intermediate the tangentialand radial directions through the wall of the sleeve in such a manner asto carry the oil in a roughly chordal path from the outer to the innersurface of the bearing. 1

- .In the drawings:

-:Figure 1 is a central vertical section through the outer powdered ironoil well sleeve forming the outer portion ofthe composite metal bearingof the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view, partly in horizontal section, of thepowdered iron outer oil well sleeve of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is acentral vertical section through the composite powderedmetal bearing of the present invention, with the bronze bearing sleeveinserted in the oil well sleeve of Figures 1 and 2,

. prior to its being swedged into place;

perior load-carrying characteristics.

. Figure 8 is a central vertical section through a further modifiedcomposite oil well bearing;v

Figure 9 is a central vertical section through the die cavity of apowdered metal molding press at the start of molding the inner bearingsleeve used in the composite powdered metal bearing of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9, but showing the position of theparts at the conclusion of molding;

Figure 11 is a horizontal section taken along the l ne HH in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a side elevation of the infiltratable core used in moldingthe powdered metal bearing sleeve shown in Figures 9 and 10;

Figure 13 is a top plan view of the infiltratable core shown in Figure12;

Figure 14 is a side elevation, partly in central ,vertical section, ofthe finished powdered metal bearing sleeve produced in the moldingoperations of Figures 9 to 11 inclusive and used in the compositepowdered metal oil well bearing of Figure 8; and

Figure 15 is a top plan view of a modified infiltratable core for thesame purpose as that shown in Figures 12 and 13.

Powdered metal oil well bearings of the types shown in my co-pendingapplications Serial No. 81,274 filed March 14, 1949 for Porous BearingWith Lubricant Reservoir Therein, and Serial No. 119,537 filed October4, 1949 for Powdered Metal Article, and in the application of Leland C.Blood Serial No. 82,243 filed March 18, 1949 for Porous chamberedBearing and Process of Making the Same and the application of Arthur ingthe Same, have been expensive to manufacture if made of powdered bronze,because of the high cost of materials, although possessing su- Powderediron oil well hearings, on the other hand, while less expensive tomanufacture, due to the lower cost of materials, are inferior inload-carrying characteristics to powdered bronze bearings. The presentinvention provides a composite powdered metal bearing having the outeroil well bearing portion constituting the major portion of the bulk andweight of the bearing composed of relatively inexpensive powdered iron,and the inner or load carrying portion of the bearing consisting of athin sleeve composed of powdered bronze swedged or otherwise immovablysecured within .the powdered iron oil well bearing portion. The

wall of the bronze sleeve, which may optionally be of solid bronzerather than powdered bronze, is provided with oil holes to more readilyconvey the oil from the powdered iron oil well portion to theload-carrying surface. These oil holes may be radial, or in amodification, roughly chordal,

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figures 5 and 6 show a compositepowdered metal oil well bearing, generally designated I0, consistinggenerally of two portions, namely an outer powdered iron oil well sleeveH and a solid or powdered bronze inner bearing sleeve I2. The outerpowdered iron oil well sleeve ll consists of a hollow powdered ironcylinder having a preferably-annular oil well 13 arranged between itsouter and inner wall portions l4 and respectively. The outer oil wellsleeve I I has a central bore "5 with circuniferentially spaced recesses11 and flared opposite ends l8. v u,

The outer oil well sleeve II is made according .to the processdisclosedrand claimed inmy .00- pending applications Serial No. 70,056filed January 10, 1949 for Powdered Metal Article'and Process of Makingthe Same, and .Serial No. 81,274 filed March 14, 1949 for Porous"Bearing With Lubricant Reservoir Therein. Briefly stated, this consistsof forming a core of infiltratable material having the shape .desiredfor the oil well Iii-for. example, a ring of copperzinc alloy composedof approximately 85% copper and 15% zinc-inserted in the mold cavity ofa powdered metal molding press, such as that shown diagrammatically inFigures 9 to ll hjerein, surrounded'by powdered iron particles andpressed into a semi-finished bearing. This green powdered ironibearir'fg containingfthe copper-zinc alloy insert is then placed inafsint- 'ering oven and sintered at a temperature of approximately 2020F., whereupon theinfiltrat'able metal of the core melts and enters intothe pores of the powdered" iron sleeve, strengthening the sleeve andleaving a void or oilwell 'l3 in the space previously occupied by thecore or insert. In the same molding operation, the rcesses'I'I andflared mouths I8 of thebore lfi are also produced by a suitablyconfiguredinne'r plunger in the molding press; The oil well I3 isthenfilled with oil by boiling it in an'oil bath or by inserting it in ahot oil bath in "an evacuated container.

The "bronze bearing sleeve l2 may 'bemade of a thin walled tube orbushingof bronze or formed of molded 'sintered bronze, powder made byconventional powdered bronze metallurgyprocesses. It is preferablyprovidedwith oil holes l9 through its walls so that the oil canfiow'freely from the oilwell I3 through the pores of the inner wall [5of the outer sleeve H to the ,inner wall or bore of the bearing sleeve12. The outer wall 2| thereof (Figures 3 and 4) is preferably made gap34 between the ends 35 ofthe' mixer-empt es of approximately the samediameter as .thebore IB of the outer sleeve H, with a sufiicientclearance to permit insertion.

''The sleeve [2 is then inserted into the bore I6 as shown in Figure 3,and is thereafterswedged to force it outward radially so that thematerial of the bronze sleeve |2 enters the'recessesv l1 and the flaredportions I 8, locking the inner sleeve l2 immovably to the outer sleeveH. At the same time, due to the swedging operation, the grain structureof the bronze sleeve I2 is made finer insofar as its pores areconcerened its bore 20 is necessarily enlarged, and the oil holes l9 areas a consequence made smaller in diameter.

6f the inner sleeve l2 of Figures 3fafi" skilled in the metals'prayifig' artf n1 ithe byswedging or by spraying-, the sle'ev'sffi Themodified co in Figure 14. The inner sleeve 42 basin 4 Th finishedcomposite bearing I0 is shown in Figures 5 and 6.

In the operation of the invention, the shaft or other rotary memberjournaled in the bearing, bore 20 is fed with oil from the oil well I3by oil seeping through the pores of the inner wall ii of the outersleeve ll of powdered iron and passing through the oil holes [9 to thebore 20. Thus, even though the swedging procedure closes up the pores ofthe inner bronze sleeve I2, 011 still reaches'the bearing bore 20through the oil holes I9 and the shaft or other rotary member isproperly lubricated for the life of the bearing by the oil contained inthe oil well l3 without replenishment from any external source of oil.If desired, the oil well l3 may be of the cellular type shown in theco-pending application of Arthur L. Causley, Serial No. 87,975 filedApril 16, 1949 for Fluid Permeable Article and Process of Making theSame.

I i The modified on well bearing g enerally designated 30, shown inFigure '7 consists'of an'outer powdered iron sleeve 3|, the same as"is='s'hown in Figures '1 to 6 inclusive, providedwith longitudinally spacedbronze inner sleeves '32 and '33 separated by an annular gap' 34 betweenthemner ends 35 of the'two sleeves 3 2 and 331 The outer sleeve 3| isof'the same configuration nd material and constructed in 'the'sanie' maner as the outer sleeve 'll 'shown'in-liigures" 1} to 6 ifielusive, andsimilar parts are similarly"deslg nated, The inner sleeves 32*and'332"-liowever, instead fof having oil holes likethe oll holes I!provided with lubricating oil ffirih'eii 'b o and 3' l by ons'eepingthrough' the ores ofthe inner-wall I5 off'the 'outensleevefflfito the {gab J I is The inner sleeves 3'2 and '33jar either-formedseparately in themanri'r i described stovefdr tlie inner sleeve l2,' ofeither solid bron' zefor-sir'itered powdered bronze, "or they ar fo'rmd'by g1) aying the inner bor'e l6 'of the out'ersleeve 3'I'-vc 1t hbronze in a conventional manner kno'wri'tdt ose 33 are imm-ovablyinterlocked with 'the'rec'es' sesi and I! flared end portions l8 timeouterb'dr It. The operationof the composite bearihg; is substantiallythe same as that of the conipcisfte metal bearing IU of Figures sand '6}except hat the oil reaches the bearingbere throng the 32 and 33 ratherthanthrought previously mentioned.

po s'ite oil well be'aringigenera-lly designated llshowninil fi gure gem loys an outer sleeve, generallyfdesig-natedd is identical with thesleeves! I: and}! of Figures 60 5 and TI. {The inner or bearingsleeve-IQ, ever, is made of sintered'powdered bron' manner describedbelow in connection with Figures 8 to;l 3 inclusive, and is shownindividually outer surfaces 43 and, the former con v the bearing boreand the latter fitting .into. ';the bore 16, recesses l1 and flared ends18 of the outer sleeve 4! in the manner described ingennection withFigures 1 to 6 inclusive The bear- 7 ing sleeve 42, however, is providedwith elongated oil holes or passageways 45 (Figure ,l4 which have outerports 45 communicating with th surface 44 and inner ports 41 V communiter with" the inner surface or bore, Thes elpassages or holes 45 arepreferably neither radial core rod 53.

nor tangential but intermediate the two, for ex-.

ample, approximately chordal, as shown in Figure 11. By analo y, the oilpassages 45 might be compared with worm holes in a wooden sleeve becauseof their circuitous nature. It will be seen from Figure 11, however,that the oil passages 45 might be tangential rather than arcuatebecausein this manner they could directly interconnect the outer andinner surfaces 44 and 43 without proceeding radially. The circuitous oilpassages 45, in addition, can hold a greater amount of oil than theradial passages i9.

The circuitous oil passages 45 are produced in the powderedbronze sleeve42 in the manner shown in Figures 9 to 13 inclusive. A core 48 ofroughly helical form is first prepared, preferably of metallic lead,such as by winding the lead wire around a mandril; The spring-like body48 thus obtained is, withdrawn from the mandril and flattened into anoval (Figure 13) or otherwise having its convolutions distorted such asby distorting alternate convolutions in opposite directions. The thusdistorted core 48 is then placed in the mold cavity 49 of a moldingpress die 50 having lower and upper tubular plungers 5i and 52 and acore rod or central lower plunger 53. The space around the core 48 isthen packed with bronze powder, it being made sure that the convolutionsof the core 48 touch both. the mold cavity bore 49 and the outer surface54 of the The upper plunger 52 is then brought downward into the moldcavity 59 with its bore 55 telescoping with the core rod 53 and with itsouter surface 56 likewise telescoping with the die cavity bore 49. Thecompression of the powdered bronze particles or charge 5'! forces theparticles into smaller space as shown in Figure 10, thereby also causingthe convolutions of the lead core 48 to be brought closer together. The

- upper plunger 52 is then retracted and the lower plunger 5! advancedupward, ejecting the semifinished sleeve, generally designated 58.

The semi-finished or "green powdered bronze sleeve 58 containing thelead core 48 is now placed in a conventional sintering oven and sinteredat a temperature of approximately 1440 F. to 1500 F. for about 15minutes. During the sintering process, the lead of the core 48 melts andinfiltrates into the pores of the charge 51, leaving the circuitous oilpassages 45 with their outer and inner ports 46 and 41 respectively(Figure 14) and thereby producing the bronze sleeve 42. This sleeve 42is then inserted into the outer sleeve 40 in the manner previouslydescribed and shown in connection with Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, andswedged into position. In the swedging operation, the material of thesleeve 42 enters the recesses l1 and flared portions I8, as beforedescribed, enlarging the inner bore 43 and reducing the diameters of theports 41 and oil passages 45, in a manner analogous to the reduction indiameter of the oil holes (9 of Figure 5. The operation of the compositeoil well bearing 40 is substantially the same as that of the compositeoil well bearing ll) of Figures 1 to 6 inelusive.

The modification shown in Figure 15 is a lead core, generally designated60, with undulations 6| having crests 62 and troughs 63 respectivelytouching the outer and inner surfaces 54 and 65 0f the finished sleeve,generally designated 65. The process and operation are substantially thesame as described in connection with the form of the invention shown inFigures 8 to 14 inclusive and hence requires no repetition.

l. A composite oil well bearing comprising a hollow outer oil well bodyof porous material having an outer bore therein, said body also havingan internal lubricant chamber in the wall thereof communicating withsaid here through the pores in said wall, and an inner bearing body ofdissimilar material to said oil well body secured within said outer boreand having an inner bearing bore therein adapted to rotatably support arotary machine element.

2. A composite oil well bearing comprising a hollow outer oil well bodyof porous materia1 having an outer bore therein, said body also havingan internal lubricant chamber in the wall thereof communicating withsaid bore through the pores in said wall, and an inner bearing body ofdissimilar porous material to said oil well body secured within saidouter boreand having an inner bearing bore therein adapted to rotatablysupport a rotary machine element 3. A composite oil well bearingcomprising a hollow outer oil wellbody of porous material having anouter bore therein, said body also having an internal lubricant chamberin the wall thereof communicating with said bore through the pores insaid wall, and an inner bearing body of dissimilar material to said oilwell body secured within said outer bore and having an inner bearingbore therein adapted to rotatably support a rotary machine element, saidbearing body having a lubricant hole through the wall thereof extendingbetween said bores.

4. A composite oil well bearing comprising a hollow outer oil well bodyof porous material having an outer bore therein, said body also havingan internal lubricant chamber in the wall thereof communicating withsaid bore through the pores in said wall, and an inner bearing body ofdissimilar material to said oil well body secured within said outer boreand having an inner bearing bore therein adapted to rotatably support arotary machine element, said outer bore having a recess therein, and aportion of said bearing body extending into said recess in interlockingengagement therewith.

5. A composite oil well bearing comprising a hollow outer oil well bodyof porous material having an outer bore therein, said body also havingan internal lubricant chamber in the wall thereof communicating withsaid bore through the pores in said wall, and a plurality of innerbearing bodies of dissimilar material to said oil well body securedwithin said outer bore in spaced relationship with alubricant-conducting gap therebetween.

6. A composite oil well bearing comprising a hollow outer oil well bodyof porous material having an outer bore therein, said body also havingan internal lubricant chamber in the wall thereof communicating withsaid bore through the pores in said wall, and an inner bearing body ofdissimilar material to said oil well body secured within said outer boreand having an inner bearing bore therein adapted to rotatably support arotary machine element, said bearing body having a circuitous chordallubricant hole through the wall thereof extending between said bores.

7. A composite oil well bearing comprising a hollow outer oil well bodyof porous material having an outer bore therein, said body also havingan internal lubricant chamber in the wall thereof communicating withsaid bore through the pores in said wall, and an inner bearing body ofdissimilar material to said oil well body secured within said outer boreand having an inner bearing bore therein adapted to vrotatably support arotary machine element, said bearing body having a circuitous arcuatelubricant hole through the wall thereof extending between said bores.

8. A composite oil well bearing comprising a hollow outer oil well bodyof porous material having an outer bore thereinlsaid body also having aninternal lubricant chamber in the wall thereof communicating with saidbore through the pores in said wall, and an inner bearing body,

of dissimilar material to said oil well body secured within said oiiterbore and, having an inner bearing bore therein adapted to 'rotatablysupport a rotarymachine element, said bearing body having a plurality ofapproximately arcuate lubricant holes through the wall thereof extendingbetween said bores in an approximately helical path. 7 f I 10. Acomposite oil well bearing comprising a hollow outer oil well body ofporous material having an outer bore therein, said body also having aninternal lubricant chamber in the wall'the're- 'of communicating withsaid bore through the pores in said wall, and, an inner bearing body ofdissimilar material to said oil well body secured within said outer boreand having an inner bearing bore therein adapted to rotatably support arotary machine element, said bearing body "having a pluralityfoflubricant holes arranged in an approximately undulating path through thewall thereof extending between said bores.

JOHN HALLER. I

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